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David Boreanaz and Emily Deschanel Discuss "Bones"

Boreanaz Returns to TV With a New Crime Drama

Okay, this isn’t a Hollywood movie no matter how you look at it, but any "Angel" fan will tell you they’d never pass up an opportunity to speak with David Boreanaz - and I’m no exception. I miss watching Boreanaz save the world in the Joss Whedon "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" spin-off and when the chance came up to sit down with the actor at the 2005 San Diego Comic Con to talk about his new project, "Bones," I couldn’t say no.

Boreanaz is returning to series TV with a starring role in "Bones," co-starring Emily Deschanel and TJ Thyne. Premiering on Fox on September 13, 2005, "Bones" focuses on forensic anthropologist Dr. Temperance Brennan (Deschanel) and FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth (Boreanaz) who work together to crack difficult cases. Dr. Brennan and her team of experts examine human remains and assist Booth in trying to identify victims and figure out the cause of death.

INTERVIEW WITH DAVID BOREANAZ AND EMILY DESCHANEL:

You two interact like you’ve been working together forever – or like an old married couple...DAVID BOREANAZ: That’s the kind of relationship we’re gonna have to really explore, in this show especially. For me it’s what’s made it so interesting to kind of jump on board is that there is something behind each one of these characters. Instead of your typical crime procedural show, this is a show that investigates that but also investigates into [the characters]. You put a lot more into these characters, what their life is all about behind closed doors. Because basically people watching it are behind the closed doors, it gives it a sense of how these characters tick.

What sort of research did you do to play these characters?DAVID BOREANAZ: I worked with an undercover police officer in Los Angeles. I had a chance a little bit to work with him, but I’m basing this character on a lot of different other things.

EMILY DESCHANEL: I had the opportunity to talk to Kathy Reichs who my character is based on. She was there and I asked her a lot of questions, and I’ve started reading. I didn’t read her books before I did the pilot because I didn’t want that to completely inform my character, because I’m not playing the character in her book, even though I’m named after the character in her book. I’m really playing her so it’s kind of complicated. But I’ve read a lot of books on forensic anthropology. I’m still reading. I just started reading some her books, which are very good and fascinating and all of my whole family has read all of her books. My mother was so excited when I got this role. She said, “I’ve read all of her books. It’s so exciting!” And then my aunt, of course, had read most of her books. My granny hadn’t read her books but now has read all of the books. Everyone’s reading books. The books are very popular.

DAVID BOREANAZ: I’ve got nine stacks and I’m just looking at them right now. Wondering, well, should I go there or not?

EMILY DESCHANEL: They’re interesting. The characters - it’s very different… I’m based on Kathy - a generalized version of Kathy Reichs - because my character also writes crime novels and stuff like that. It was wonderful. We had Kathy on the set a lot and then there was another forensic anthropologist at different times to make sure everything was set up correctly.

Emily, this is very different from anything you’ve done before. What made this series so special you just had to sign on?EMILY DESCHANEL: I think it’s a very intelligent show. Personally, I was really drawn to a very strong female character; an intelligent woman who is extremely good at her job but has trouble relating in her personal life to people beyond her area of scientific expertise. And I feel like this has really smart dialogue back and forth. This repartee that the characters have - that really drew me in.

I think that the way Hart [Hanson], the creator of this show, melded different genres together was fascinating to me. I think it was really different than a lot of things you read because it’s not just a crime-solving forensic show. It’s not really just about solving the crime and you don’t really know anything about the people who are doing it. To me, that’s not that exciting as an actor to play that because there’s nothing really to do. I mean you can slip in little things, but it’s hard - it’s a frustrating job. But here you really know about the characters. You really find out about who they are. You know about their relationships with people, you see what they’re struggling with in their life, how they connect with the crimes and victims of the crimes that they’re solving and all of that.

DAVID BOREANAZ: There’s definitely a personal tribute to the touch of the vulnerability of each character. For me, it was a straight shot: hour drama, great characters, opportunity to create a lasting character that could be seen as something that’s a lot of fun, goes out, got guns, fast cars. He’s a cowboy – I can really make this guy a maverick. I dig that. I’m straight up with “a cup of coffee ain’t gonna help my life girl, gettin’ all forensic on me,” and that just cracks my ass up. I’m eating beef jerky in the lab… I haven’t done that yet, I mean I was pulled back on the part on some things I wanted to do. [You’ve] got to establish credibility. There’s a aspect to that – how can you identify with my man, he’s literally in the lab gnawing on some beef stick while he’s tearing apart this body.

To me, that’s a bizarre thing. I haven’t done that yet, I’m just getting [started] here.

EMILY DESCHANEL: You’ve got so many ideas for this character.

DAVID BOREANAZ: Maybe it’s just a muscle thing I have going on. I’m into carburetors now, and oil, and shocks.

EMILY DESCHANEL: You’re a ‘guy’s guy’.

DAVID BOREANAZ: I want old, broken-in leather. But she is too, I think she’s really got a sense about her…

EMILY DESCHANEL: I’m a ‘guy’s girl.’

DAVID BOREANAZ: She’s real. She brings such a sense of, with [her character] Temperance, Emily brings this strong sense of believability but yet vulnerability. I think every one of the characters in this does this. There’s a direct, fine line between these characters. Like an attachment to why this crime was committed, why I have to solve this crime. Why does Temperance have to solve these crimes? Because there’s something in her past. What about her parents? There’s a big, big storyline there. For me, I see a kid. Maybe I have a child that I’m not close to. Maybe my father’s abusive. There’s all these areas that I would love to go to. And that, to me, is important. That people ought to have fun with.

Will audiences be able to tune in and figure out what’s going on, no matter how far along it is in the season?DAVID BOREANAZ: You’ll have that. I think you’ll have the going in and understanding the a-to-b and recognizing this is a solved crime, but I think within that are small arcs that can continue with the personalities or why this person is so p.o’d for five episodes or happy for five episodes or what they’re really trying to get at. I mean this sexual chemistry - it’s like Barry White [laughter from both]. You know what I’m saying? This is like Marvin Gaye, ‘Let’s Get It On,’ but I’m trying to blow up those string balloons and you just can’t get it.

Was it a tough decision to make to go back to TV?DAVID BOREANAZ: This was kind of not. Well, I got knocked over the head with a of couple things, but this for me, meeting Barry [Josephson, executive producer] and being involved with great people made it pretty easy for me. Finally I get to play someone who has a much broader appeal as far as a network is concerned.

I had a great time with my show and I look at that… I had an unbelievable time but it’s a different stage for me and I think the right moment for me and I just looked at it as Barry’s got a keen eye for film. He’s a film guy and I wanted to be involved with film guys. To me, that’s where I want to go or back to theater maybe, small side shows, Amsterdam... I don’t know. [To Emily] You talk…"

Normally I’d edit out the following but I'm leaving it in as it helps prove the point I made earlier about the way these two interact:

EMILY DESCHANEL: I think this show is very different than “Angel” and “Buffy.”

EMILY DESCHANEL: We get loopy doing the show. Doing the pilot we would be working for hours when the show tunes came out. We got crazy.

DAVID BOREANAZ: I think all the cast members are just happy to be working, and I love that. They want to work, they want to make a great product and that’s important.

EMILY DESCHANEL: Everyone is completely dedicated to doing the best show that we can do, and we’re pretty much on the same line of what that is.

DAVID BOREANAZ: TJ [Thynes] is the bomb. My man TJ… He’s like this Grateful Dead boy. He’s just all over the place – he’s a hacky sack man.

EMILY DESCHANEL: He’s like the hot science teacher from high school or something.

DAVID BOREANAZ: But they just don’t like me, and I love that. It’s like, “I’m Derek Jeter and I’m playing in your house. Don’t like me," and I applaud that.

EMILY DESCHANEL: He’s a street-smart guy.

He’s an FBI agent, he’s like visceral, solving the crimes from his gut and interviewing people and going from the crime scene and stuff like that. And then we have this whole lab of scientists who just work with evidence, purely. And we’re coming from that background, this kind of book smart stuff. He’s coming from the street-smart and then I’m trying to…

DAVID BOREANAZ: There’s a sensitivity to that but she doesn’t understand the sensitivity.

EMILY DESCHANEL: I don’t understand that but I want to get in on the street stuff.